Also called: Oda Kippoushi
Title: Kazusa no Suke, Owari no Kami
Historically: The first of the "Three Unifiers"; born in Owari to a samurai, his unbridled, ruthless ambitious and military tactical genius enabled him to gain control of the imperial court in 1573 after having driven the shogun out of Kyoto. His seal read "the realm subjected to military power". Murdered at the age of forty-nine by his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide in the Honnou-ji in Kyoto.
Also known as: Hakku Dharani—"Eight-Verse Dharani" (八句陀羅尼)
Part of one of the five Shurangama Mantras which appears in the seventh volume of the Shurangama Sutra. This mantra is the last line of the invocation used to summon the aid of Bishamonten, the Guardian of the North.
In Mirage of Blaze, this mantra is a portion of the spell used by Zen Master Kaisen to seal the onryou of Takeda Shingen after his death. This is also the incantation engraved on the bracelet Naoe gives to Yuzuru to confine Shingen after his revival.
「おん ばさら ぼきしゃ ぼく」
A mantra chanted at the end of a ritual to send any summoned powers back to their origins.
Lit.: "vengeful ghost"; the spirits of those who died in the Sengoku period who are still so filled with rage and hatred that they continue to exist in the world as vengeful spirits instead of being purified and reborn.
Lit.: "vengeful general": the spirits of the warlords of the Sengoku period, who continue their battles even in modern-age Japan.
An Edo-period historian and poet who was born on Jan. 21, 1780 in Hiroshima-han and died on Oct. 16, 1832. His father, Rai Shunsui (頼春水), was a Confucian scholar. His works included: The Unofficial History of Japan (日本外史), Chronicles of the Japanese Government (日本政記), Sanyou Poem Selections (山陽詩鈔), Notes on Morality (通義), etc.
Lit.: "power of spiritual waves; one of the two types of spiritual abilities of the Yasha-shuu which influences the consciousness, mind, and soul of a target. Choubukuryoku is a high-level form of this ability.
Also known as: Roku Dou Kai (六道界), Roku Dou (六道)
Lit. "Six Path Worlds" or just "Six Paths"; a Buddhist belief stemming from Hinduism which says that all beings are trapped within a cycle of life and death and are born into one of six realms until they are enlightened and can break free from the cycle. The six realms are: Jigoku Dou, Gaki Dou, Chikushou Dou, Ashura Dou, Nin Dou, and Ten Dou.
A mountain used by Uesugi Kenshin during the Battle of Kawanakajima as one of his camps.
Historically: Second daughter of Sanjou Kinyori, Minister of the Left and second legal wife of Takeda Shingen, a woman of courtly blood who was mother of his original heir, Takeda Yoshinobu as well as two other sons and two daughters (the older of whom married Houjou Ujimasa). Her name is literally written as "person of Sanjou (Clan)".
She was described as a great beauty and fervent in her devotion to Buddhism. Since Shingen eventually named the grandson of a concubine heir to the clan, it is thought that Sanjou and Shingen did not get along.
In Mirage of Blaze: She and Kousaka Masanobu break the barrier over Takeda Shingen's tomb, the Maenduka, and attempt to resurrect Shingen by using Narita Yuzuru as a vessel for his spirit. She herself takes over the body of Takeda Yuiko but is exorcised by Takaya and Naoe with kouhou-choubuku.
The "warring states" period, lasting from 1467 to 1615, in which the warlords of Japan battled each other for the rule of the country.
Lit.: Thousand-Year-Old Bridge; bridge across the Metoba River on Daimyochou Avenue which leads to Matsumoto Castle.
Lit. "true word"; mantras which contain a distillation of the Buddhist truth.
Lit.: Bamboo-grass Well; a town in Nagano Prefecture.
Abbreviated name for Shinano, an ancient province in central Japan.
Shoukon Temple is the small temple at the top of Saijo-yama.
Lit. "host body"; the body stolen by a kanshousha in order to be reborn or resurrected.
Also called: Ryougonshu (楞厳咒)
The longest mantra in any of the sutras which is given in the middle of the 7th volume of the Shurangama Sutra . It contains the power to overcome all obstacles towards achieving enlightenment and holds the entire essence of the Shurangama Sutra and all of Buddha's teachings. It invokes, in order, the aid of the guardians of the five directions: Jikokuten, the Lord of the East, Zouchoten, the Lord of the South, Taishakuten, the Lord of the Center, Koumokuten, the Lord of the West, and Bishamonten, the Lord of the North.
A Japanese history-themed drama series produced by the Nihon Housou Kyoukai (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), Japan's public broadcast station, every year since 1963.
Also called: Takeda Katsuchiyo, Takeda Harunobu
Title: Shinano no Kami
Historically: Daimyo of Kai who became the head of the Takeda clan by rebelling against his father. Conquered Shinano and fought against Uesugi Kenshin. The two clans clashed five times on the plains of Kawanakajima, where neither gained complete victory until Shingen died of illness in his campaign against Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
A prefecture located in the south-central region of Honshu Island, Japan.
Mountains located in Nagano Prefecture. Also the current name of a town formerly known as Togakure.
Also called: Matsudaira Takechiyo, Matsudaira Motoyasu
Titles: Mikawa no Kami, Shogun
Historically: The third of the "Three Unifiers"; an ally of Oda Nobunaga, after Nobunaga's death he first battled against then became an ally of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. When Hideyoshi died in 1598, Tokugawa moved against Hideyoshi's son and heir Toyotomi Hideyori and the five regents appointed to protect the Toyotomi rule. Tokugawa, along with his allies the Date and Mogami, and the defected Kobayakawa and Mouri clans, defeated the opposition at the Battle of Sekigahara and established the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Also called: Hiyoshimaru (日吉丸), Kinoshita Tokichiro (木下藤吉郎), Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴秀吉)
Titles: Kanpaku, Taikou, Chikuzen no Kami
Historically: The second of the "Three Unifiers"; he was born a peasant but rose quickly through the ranks of Oda Nobunaga's vassals to the position of one of Nobunaga's most distinguished generals. After Nobunaga's death, he took over the work of unifying the nation through military strength and brought an end to the Sengoku period.
Also called: Tsuchiya Uemon (土屋右衛門)
One of the Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen who fought in numerous battles, including the Battle of Kawanakajima.
A long robe/garment worn over a kimono.
Also called: Nagao Kiheiji (長尾喜平次), Nagao Akikage (長尾顕景), Nagao Kagekatsu (長尾景勝)
Historically: One of Uesugi Kenshin's nephews, he was adopted by Kenshin and named Kenshin's heir along with Uesugi Kagetora. Following Kenshin's death in 1578, he provoked the feud against Kagetora in the Otate no ran for succession. His forces won over those of Kagetora in 1579, and he forced Kagetora to commit suicide. He lost the Uesugi's western holdings to Oda Nobunaga, and later submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, under whom he rose to prominence to become a member of the council of five regents appointed by Hideyoshi to protect the Toyotomi rule.
As a general under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Kagekatsu received the 1.2 million-koku fief of Aizu in addition to his 550,000-koku fief of Echigo. After Toyotmi's death, Kagekatsu was one of the first daimyo to plan revolt against Tokugawa Ieyasu with the building of a new castle in Aizu and the accumulation of troops, and could be said to have least partly begun the Battle of Sekigahara. He refused a summons from Tokugawa to go to the capital to explain himself, and attacked with a 50,000 army, which were held back by Mogami Yoshiaki and Date Masamune. Kagekatsu was defeated early at the siege of his castle at Shiroishi and declared his allegiance to Tokugawa.
Afterwards, Kagekatsu was given the 300,000-koku Yonezawa-han in the Northeast.
Also known as: possibly Houjou Ujihide (北条氏秀), Houjou Saburou (北条三郎), Saburou Kagetora (三郎景虎)
Historically: Uesugi Kagetora was the seventh son (sixth to survive to adulthood) of Houjou Ujiyasu, younger brother of Houjou Ujimasa, Houjou Ujiteru, Houjou Ujikuni, Houjou Ujinori, Houjou Ujitada, and older brother of Houjou Ujimitsu. His mother was the sister-in-law of Tooyama Yasumitsu, a vassal of the Houjou Clan (other sources say Zuikeiin, Ujiyasu's principle wife). It's likely that he and Houjou Ujihide were two different people and that Ujihide was the son of Houjou Tsunashige and living in Edo while Saburou was living in Echigo, so most historians refer to him as Houjou Saburou when describing his early life.
As a child, he was sent into the priesthood at Souun Temple in Hakone, then sent as hostage to Takeda Shingen of the Takeda Clan in the three-way alliance between Houjou, Takeda, and Imagawa formed in 1554 (though this last point is now in dispute, as it is told only in the Records of Ancient Battles of the Eight Kanto Provinces and recorded in none of the Takeda Clan records.)
He was adopted by his uncle Houjou Genan in 1569 and married Genan's daughter.
When the Houjou and Uesugi clans formed an alliance in 1569, Saburou was sent to Uesugi Kenshin in an exchange of hostages with Kakizaki Haruie. (At first, the hostage was set to be Houjou Ujimasa's third son Kunimasumaru, but Ujimasa could not bring himself to send off his son, who was then still a baby.) Saburou was sent to the Uesugi clan in early 1570. Kenshin, who never married, developed a liking for the handsome and intelligent Saburou. He married his niece Seienin, the daughter of Nagao Masakage and older sister of Nagao Akikage (Uesugi Kagekatsu) to Saburou, gave him the name Kagetora (a name that had once belonged to Kenshin himself), and adopted him into the Uesugi Clan.
When Kenshin died suddenly in 1578 without naming an heir, Kagetora and Kagekatsu, similarly adopted by Kenshin, fought for succession to the position of clan head (the Otate no Ran). Though Kagetora held the early advantage with the backing of Uesugi vassals such as Uesugi Kagenobu, Honjou Hidetsuna, Kitajou Takahiro, and the Houjou Clan, the tide of the battle turned with Takeda Katsuyori's betrayal to Kagekatsu's side.
When the Otate fell in 1579, Kagetora attempted to escape to Odawara Castle, but was betrayed at Samegao Castle by Horie Munechika and committed suicide. His wife committed suicide along with him (though there are also accounts that she remained behind at the Otate and committed suicide there when her brother Kagekatsu refused Kagetora's surrender.) His oldest son Doumanmaru died at the hands of Kagekatsu's troops along with Uesugi Norimasa, and the rest of his children were believed to have died along with their parents.
In Mirage of Blaze: He was born to Houjou Ujiyasu and Zuikeiin as their eighth (seventh to survive to adulthood) and youngest son. After his death in the Otate no Ran, he was charged by Uesugi Kenshin to become kanshousha in order to ensure that the peace of Japan is not disrupted by the onshou as the leader of the Yasha-shuu and the commander of the Meikai Uesugi Army.
Also called: Nagao Kagetora (長尾景虎), Uesugi Masatora (上杉政虎), Uesugi Terutora (上杉輝虎)
Title: Kantou Kanrei (関東管領)
Historically: Fourth son of the noted warrior Nagao Tamekage, Kenshin wrested control of the Nagao clan from his brother Nagao Harukage and fought for control of Echigo Province. He accepted the name Uesugi Masatora when he gave refuge to his nominal lord, Uesugi Norimasa, and at his urging campaigned to push the Houjou out of the Kantou Region.
He adopted the name "Kenshin" when he became a Buddhist monk and a devotee of Bishamonten. The standard his army carried onto the battlefield bore the character 毘 ("bi") for Eight-Sword Bishamonten. He battled Takeda Shingen five times at Kawanakajima, as well as the Houjou and Ashina clans and Oda Nobunaga, whom he defeated despited being outnumbered. However, Kenshin died soon after the battle. He named his two adopted sons, Uesugi Kagetora and Uesugi Kagekatsu, his heirs, hoping that they would divide the Uesugi lands peacefully between them after his death.
In Mirage of Blaze: He became a god of war after his death, ascending from Nin Dou to Ten Dou, and established the Meikai Uesugi Army to ensure that the peace of Japan is not disrupted by the onshou. He named Kagetora as its commander.
A prefecture in the central region of Honshu, formerly known as Kai and ruled by Takeda Shingen during the Sengoku Period. Also contains a city of the same name.
Lit.: "Dark Sengoku", the civil war still being fought by the spirits of the warlords of the Sengoku period in modern-day Japan.
The five kanshousha at the head of the Meikai Uesugi Army ordered by Uesugi Kenshin to hunt for the onshou who are disrupting the peace of modern-era Japan in a battle which has lasted four hundred years. Led by Uesugi Kagetora, with Naoe Nobutsuna, Kakizaki Haruie, Yasuda Nagahide, and Irobe Katsunaga. The name "Yasha" refers to soldiers in the army of Bishamonten, called "Yaksha".
Lit. "Light of Goodness Temple Plains"; A basin within the mountains of central Nagano City in Nagano Prefecture.
